When local fishermen told Rodrigo de Moura, marine specialist, and the other members of the team at Conservation International-Brazil (CI) that “the best fishing is done in spots that are harder to find, far off the coast,” the CI staff members listened closely.
CI has been working in Abrolhos for more than a decade, helping to develop practices that honor local traditions, provide local livelihoods and protect marine species – including one of the largest and richest coral reef systems in the Atlantic Ocean, with several endemic species and a unique type of reef that grows as giant mushroom-shaped pinnacles.
The Abrolhos Bank
The Abrolhos Bank, off the central coast of Brazil, is the Southern Atlantic Ocean’s largest and richest reef system, encompassing most of the southern coast of Brazil’s Bahia state. Long-standing communities of artisanal fishermen continue to make a sustainable living from the sea.
EXPLORE: Coral reefs hold immensely diverse life.
“In the past,” says de Moura, “fisherfolk used natural marks on land, some rudimentary ‘oceanography’ equipment to prospect the bottom and a lot of trial-and-error to find and return to the deep coralline structures where the fish aggregate. Today,” he adds, “GPS technology is making deep reefs increasingly more accessible and easier to find.”
Unfortunately, new technologies are also opening up these newly vulnerable sites to overexploitation by commercial fleets.
The Discovery
Working off the fishermen’s tips, researchers from CI, Federal University of Espírito Santo and Federal University of Bahia conducted a major study that confirmed the existence of reef structures they believe double the size of the Abrolhos reef.
"We had some clues from local fishermen that other reefs existed, but not at the scale of what we discovered," says de Moura.
Using side-scan sonar technology, they completed a three-dimensional map of the marine seabed, which will help develop key areas to protect. Moura, who has dived some of the new areas alongside his fellow researches, says, "we found a reef community completely different from those in the shallows, and some reefs (probably rarely fished) with 30 times more fish than the coastal ones."
IN PHOTOS: Check out a gallery of coral reefs and the threats they face.
"The deep reef assemblages abound in colorful sponges, and also have black corals with unusual growth forms. Some fish are also found only there, such as bright blue damselfishes and longsnouted butterflyfishes." His excitement comes shining through, as does his passion to protect the reefs.
"Due to their relative inaccessibility and depth, the newly discovered reefs are teeming with life," says Guilherme Dutra, Conservation International’s director of marine programs in Brazil. "The bad news is that only a small percentage of marine habitats in the Abrolhos are protected, despite mounting threats."
Challenges, Threats and Successes
And the threats are severe. Over-fishing, coastal development and large scale land conversion to agriculture are challenges that CI and their local partners are helping to address. De Moura cites the work of local communities to seek alternatives that counter the forces of degradation.
"The best examples," he says, are those "extractive reserves" where local people have exclusive rights to use – or harvest – the resources of an area, but must do so in partnership with the Brazilian Environmental Agency and other partners. Global issues like climate change and ocean acidification continue to be threats as well.
Luckily, CI’s local partners are ready and willing to do their part, and to point conservation experts to amazing finds like these newly discovered reefs. Conservation International owes a debt of gratitude to the local people who told us to: "Abra os olhos" (open your eyes)!
The new Abrolhos discoveries would not have happened without them.
LEARN MORE: A recent expedition to Halmahera Island in the Pacific Ocean demonstrates the importance of marine preservation.